


Kravitz and Barry's Cunning Plan

by Newt



Series: Newt's Twins Week! [5]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, M/M, Twinsweek, blupjeans, fluffy and sappy, it's a proposal fic my friends idk what to tell you, taakitz
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-01
Updated: 2018-02-01
Packaged: 2019-03-12 05:41:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13540911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Newt/pseuds/Newt
Summary: It takes a LOT to surprise the twins. Which can get stressful, when it's something as important as the Rest of Your Shared Lives.Luckily, Kravitz and Barry have learned from the best.





	Kravitz and Barry's Cunning Plan

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everybody! This is for day five of twinsweek, which was supposed to be for a Taako relationship, but I already had this planned from a while ago so I combined it for both twins. There’ll be another joint fic for both twins tomorrow, too. Hooray for sappiness!  
> Also, just as a sidenote, I learned from Shmanners that you should talk to someone before springing the proposal thing on them, for sure, but I also learned that it’s case by case, depending on if the person likes surprises, etc. So I figured Taako would probably definitely be into surprises, what with the Drama of the Thing.   
> Anyway, enjoy!

Kravitz glanced around the tiny room, thanking his reaper form for the fact that he wasn’t currently choking to death. The fires had mostly been extinguished, leaving nothing but billows of black smoke to fill up the room. The bounties were contained, and things were settling into a quiet completion. Somewhere along the line, Barry had slipped away, leaving Kravitz and Lup to finish up.

 

Kravitz tucked away his scythe. It was now or never.

 

“Lup, before you go back, can I ask you about something?”

 

Lup twisted around, snuffing out one last fire with the heel of her boot.

 

“Sure thing Skeletor, just let me…”

 

With a flick of her wrist, ropes wound around the three defeated necromancers in the corner. They’d be waking up just in time for a one-way trip to the Astral Plane.

 

Kravtiz shed his reaper form, feeling the tug of nerves in his flesh-face, and brushed the dirt off his gloves as best he could before tearing them off. His palms were disgustingly sweaty, and the rest of him was also not great. He hoped Lup would assume it to be from the heat of the fires, and not from the fact that his heart was currently trying to escape through his throat.

 

Ah, heartbeat. Another quirk developed during his time dating Taako.

 

Lup folded her hands under her chin, mouth quirked upward.

 

“Lay it on me.”

 

Kravitz couldn’t even look at her without feeling slightly queasy. This woman, who had been with Taako since before his first breath, who seemed to know Taako better than he knew himself, sometimes. She’d only just got her brother back, after years of suffering. She deserved this time with him. Who was Kravitz to barge in, demanding a share of that?

 

But, no. Even as he thought these things, the image of the joy in Taako’s face as he saw her, that special brand of joy that only Taako could pull off, made Kravitz’s stomach flip. He wanted this more than he’d ever wanted anything. He’d earned this, too, in his own way.

 

“I… I’d like to marry your brother,” he said, in as even a tone as he could muster.

 

Lup blinked.

 

“Oh.”

 

There was a silence, and Kravitz’s face burned. He reminded himself that even this was new, this warmth he’d started feeling after spending enough time with Taako.

 

“Could you, uh, could you try that again without the accent, maybe?”

 

Shit, he was still in work mode. He heard himself laugh, once, maybe a little panicked, and tried again, dropping the accent.

 

“I want to ask Taako to marry me.”

 

“There ya go,” said Lup, voice oddly quiet. Her eyebrows were drawn together, her gaze flickering across the scuffed-up floor.

 

“Is that… are you all right with that?” asked Kravitz, desperation clawing its way up his chest.

 

Lup snorted.

 

“What, you want that whole ‘hurt him and you die’ speech? It’s not my choice, ghost rider. Taako’s his own dude.”

 

“Of course! No, naturally. I know that,” Kravitz cleared his throat. “It’s just that I know how important you are to him, and he you, and I don’t want to do anything that could interfere with that. If the timing is wrong, I’d like to know.”

 

Lup smiled, weakly.

 

“Nah, it’s… cool. Nothing you do is gonna fuck up what we have going. Honestly, I’m happy that he’s happy. Go for it.”

 

Kravitz took in his first full breath of the evening, shuddering a little.

 

“Thank you, Lup. And you… that’s it? Do you…”

 

He stopped, biting his bottom lip. Lup raised an eyebrow.

 

“Yes?”

 

Kravitz’s mouth twitched.

 

“Do you think he’ll say yes?”

 

Lup burst out laughing, swinging her scythe up over her shoulder.

 

“Of course he’ll say _yes_. Fuck. He’s so in love with you, Krav. It’s actually sort of disgusting.”

 

Kravitz’s heart fluttered, and he fought to stay standing as his legs buckled a bit. Oh, Gods. If this was how it felt to hear Taako’s sister say he’d want to marry him, how the fuck was Kravitz going to handle the real deal? He soaked in that for a moment, until Lup started to turn away, and he remembered the whole point of this conversation. The carefully constructed plan he’d almost forgotten in a moment of lovesickness.

 

“Oh, hang on, Lup.”

 

She turned back around.

 

“I was wondering if you’d want to make it sort of a group thing? I… I want to surprise him. And I want you to be there, so he’s more… I don’t know, comfortable? He wouldn’t do anything without knowing you were alright with it, first.”

 

Lup let out a single laugh. Uncertain what that meant, Kravitz smiled weakly. He dared to continue.

 

“I think the actual proposal should probably be just me and Taako, though, if that sounds good to you. You know how he likes to keep up appearances. He’s most into the romance thing when it’s just the two of us.”

 

Lup fake gagged.

 

“Time to take a hard turn, please,” she said. Kravitz felt his cheeks heat up more.

 

“Okay, well, the point is, you are very important to Taako. So before the actual proposal, I think we should have a nice dinner out, with the four of us. Barry too, I mean. Disguise it as a sort of double date.”

 

“Hmm, devious,” said Lup, grinning again. “I think he’s rubbing off on you.”

 

Kravitz grinned back, scrubbing at the back of his arm.

 

“I think that sounds adorable,” piped up one of the necromancers in the corner. Lup turned on him quickly, tearing a portal in the air as she did.

 

“Okay, no, time to go.”

 

*****

 

It took three rogue necromancers, a demon summoning ritual, and at least nine small fires for Barry to finally get away from the action long enough to catch Taako alone. Lup and Kravitz could handle this one without him. Just another Tuesday on the job.

 

Barry appeared outside Taako’s kitchen door, polite enough to knock but too impatient to bother putting the portal outside of the house. Seconds were precious, here. Lup was scarily good at recognizing dark rituals. He rapped his knuckles on the door frame before pushing his way in, sure he’d find Taako in there.

 

Sure enough, Taako stood at the counter, mixing some sort of dough in a flowery apron. His assistant, Ren, was there as well, standing off to the side with half a smile still on her face. They had clearly been in the middle of some sort of pleasant conversation before Barry barged in, still shifting back from his skeleton face, torn red cloak billowing behind him. Barry thought he looked cool as hell. Taako’s face suggested otherwise.

 

Barry didn’t even say anything, just looked frantically from Taako to Ren and back, mouth flapping open and closed like a confused, denim-clad fish. Luckily, Taako decided to put him out of his misery.

 

“Welp, that happened. You’ve got paperwork or something, right Ren?”

 

Ren nodded, eyes still scanning Barry’s ( _very_ cool) reaper garb.

 

“Yes, I can, erm… I’ll go file some more student reports. I keep meaning to get through those.”

 

Taako nodded, acting impressively professional. He went back to mixing with a slight frown as Ren brushed past Barry to exit the room. She nodded at him on the way out, polite but confused.

 

Now that Barry was alone with Taako, he could feel the buzzing in his brain. He’d been practicing this moment in his head all morning, the _listen, Taako_ s and the _hey, you know_ s, but now that he was here, in the silence, he didn’t really remember how to think or speak or anything.

 

“Whatever you’ve got for me had better not wreck my cran-orange biscotti,” Taako warned, stirring harder. “Otherwise save it for thirty-six minutes plus cooling time, my dude.”

 

There was a small, almost unnoticeable tremor in Taako’s voice, which took maybe a century of living with the guy to pick up on.

 

“It’s nothing bad,” said Barry quickly. Taako rolled his eyes, but his mixing got steadier.

 

“Then dish it out, compadre.”

 

“I… uh…”

 

Barry’s every nerve was on edge, from his toes to his teeth. His heart didn’t so much beat as tremble, pushing against his ribs from every side until his chest felt a little bit like it was gonna explode. He forced himself to breathe evenly, and look Taako in the eyes. As soon as he saw Taako’s eyes, though, with their very Lup-like colour and very un-Lup-like severity, he felt a little bit like throwing up. He settled for staring at Taako’s chin.

 

“I… I wanna marry Lup.”

 

As soon as the words were out there, Barry’s senses snapped back into hyper focus. He could see every twitch of Taako’s face muscles, the surprise in his expression as his eyes widened and his lips pursed. The surprise lasted about half a second before Taako broke into a big goofy grin. His voice was maybe ten times too loud as he responded.

 

“Well it’s about fucking time. So, what, you want my permission or something?”

 

“No, no! Nothing like that,” Barry said. He suddenly had no idea what to do with his hands, and settled for some intense robe fiddling.

 

“I just, uh…”

 

He tried to look at Taako’s eyes again. Mistake. Dropped his gaze farther down now, to the apron. He realized there were words on it, bright pink letters that said “New Phandalin Winery and Deli – come try a glass!” with a drawing of what was clearly the circle of black glass that was once Old Phandalin. Barry would maybe disapprove of this fashion choice, if he could feel anything besides abject terror right now.

 

“Well, mostly I was wonderin’ if you could help me out? So I can keep it a secret, like.”

 

Taako’s grin widened, and he actually set the biscotti bowl down on the countertop.

 

“Hell yeah! What’s the plan?”

 

Barry felt a blush creep across his face, and hated it. He’d planned out at least fifty different ways this conversation could go, and now that it was happening he couldn’t remember a damn thing.

 

“Well, this is sort of, ah, personal, I guess, but we both agreed kind of early on that we wanted to get married someplace safe, after the whole universe-being-eaten alive deal was taken care of.”

 

“Mm, I know,” said Taako, raising an eyebrow, and of course he did. He and Lup talked about basically everything, there was no way this key life detail was gonna get past him. Barry took another deep breath.

 

“Okay, well, here we are. Is the thing.”

 

Barry paused, and sort of nodded for a bit. Taako joined in. Barry forced himself to stop, moving the energy back to robe fiddling.

 

“So anyway, she made me promise I’d do something sappy and dramatic. So I’ve wanted to do that since the second I saw her again, but of course there was that whole lich body thing, and then we had some time being reapers, and then it was Carey and Killian’s wedding, which would’ve been weird to propose around, and then…”

 

“Sparknotes, please, Barold,” said Taako, gesturing to his biscotti dough.

 

“Uh, right. Well basically anytime we go anywhere with the two of us I know she’s expecting it, so I have to tell her this isn’t it, and then every other time we’re either at work or out somewhere with you and Kravitz. Which would be weird. So I was hoping you could help me, sort of, spring it on her?”

 

Taako nodded along, and Barry rallied his strength to continue.

 

“Yeah. Like, we could make it a double date, sort of. I was actually thinking about that Sizzle it Up show you have coming up. We go out with the four of us, you and Krav go to get ready, I steal her away somewhere, and… um… profit? I guess?”

 

Barry smiled weakly.

 

“Hm. Yeah, yeah. Right. Yeah, no. I like it,” said Taako.  “It’s good. Not crazy about the idea of her missing my show, but she’s seen a few already anyway. Plus she’s got the real deal, so no big loss.”

 

He tapped a finger on his chin, thoughtfully.

 

“Let me pick the restaurant? And the ring. God, Barold, please let me help you with the ring.”

 

“Oh, uh, sure. Sounds good.”

 

Taako broke into a grin.

 

“Good. Now get out of here before your nerd vibes ruin my biscotti.”

 

*****

 

Violin music curled through the fancy restaurant as the four of them folded napkins, paid bills, and prepared to leave. The elegantly-dressed waitress looked a little apprehensive at their loud laughter and louder reputation, but the hefty tip they left quickly changed any opinions.

 

They pulled on light jackets over lavish outfits (not counting the jeans or the wizard hat), and decided to split up for the next little while, then reconvene before the show.

 

Kravitz felt maybe a little sick. But, somehow, in a good way?

 

It was nighttime now, and most of the shops were getting ready to close up. Their cozy side street on the outskirts of Neverwinter was pretty much empty, and this meant no one was there to recognize Taako. This was both a blessing (for Kravitz’s grand plans) and a curse (for Taako’s ego).

 

“Krav, this is, like, super cursed right?” asked Taako, taking a hand off of Kravitz’s arm to gesture to a passing shop window.

 

Kravitz turned to see a storefront shoved full of sad-looking dolls, and a chill ran down his spine. A particularly large doll with only one eye was definitely looking at him.

 

“That is… yes, absolutely.”

 

“Knew it. So much dead kid energy. I hate it.”

 

Taako wrapped himself back around Kravitz’s arm, and Kravitz warmed. He let out a small laugh, cold breath fogging in the warmer night. Somehow, Taako had made him breathe again.

 

“I was gonna walk you by that music store you love, but I have some very _secret reasons_ why we have to stay away from it tonight,” said Taako lazily, not looking up from the path.

 

“Oh?” asked Kravitz, cocking an eyebrow. He knew exactly what the secret reason was, and it felt weird to be a step ahead of Taako like this.

 

“Yeah, my dude. It’s wild. I’ll… hm,” Taako went quiet again. “Anyway, let’s go back there tomorrow maybe.”

 

Kravitz warmed at Taako’s words, feeling it spread out from his heart and all over his body. It was crazy, the things Taako could do to Kravitz’s legally dead heart.

 

It had been over two years now since Kravitz had made one throwaway comment about wanting to be a conductor, and basically ever since Taako had been helping him put that dream back on track. Kravitz had almost forgotten how much music used to mean to him. It was just another wonderful thing that this man had brought into his life.

 

They walked in a contented silence for a few more blocks, looking in on shop windows and speculating about the people inside. As Taako took in the city, Kravitz fed off of his lazy sort of bliss. Of the many things that had surprised Kravitz about Taako, his love for people was one of the greatest. He hid it well, through jokes and deflections, but underneath his cold exterior one of Taako’s favourite things to do was observe people, and learn about them, and make them smile. It was the reason he started up his cooking show again, with the help of his loved ones. It was one of Kravitz’s favourite things to watch.

 

Kravitz caught sight of Taako’s face in a shop window, and paused for a moment. The shop itself was closed, and his boyfriend’s smiling image loomed eerily in the darkness.

 

“Is this… oh, they’re selling your cookware.”

 

Taako turned around to look, expression instantly stormy.

 

“That’s… wow. Frankly I’m insulted, Krav.”

 

Kravitz blinked. Taako held up their joined hands, gesturing towards the display.

 

“Look at the finish on this skillet. These are clearly knock-off. This is slander on my good name.”

 

“Oh,” said Kravitz, squinting at the cookware to try to see what Taako meant by that. It was no use, he just didn’t have an eye trained for these things.

 

Kravitz leaned in closer, turning as Taako dropped his hand and started rummaging through a pocket in his sheer, sparkly cloak. Kravitz hadn’t even noticed the pocket. Very stylish. Clearly a Taako brand product.

 

Taako pulled out a pen and a scrap of paper, scribbled something on it, and flashed it towards Kravitz. Kravitz laughed lightly at the drawing of an angry horse head, with Taako’s signature, and Taako winked at him before sliding it under the door.

 

“It’s doubles as a warning and something they can sell to get some real fucking merchandise,” Taako explained. “My signature is worth lots. I just wish the warning could have been better. You don’t want to _know_ what I would put under there if the gap was a little wider.”

 

Kravitz grinned, taking Taako’s hand again. His warmth returned.

 

“Can I… can I make a wild guess? Horse head?”

 

Taako’s face was unreadable. A silence stretched out until it was verging on uncomfortable, and then Taako changed the subject.

 

“Hey, you wanna see something buck wild?” He asked.

 

“What is it?”

 

“Follow me,” Taako sang, meeting him with a cheeky grin that twisted something in Kravitz’s heart.

 

“Of course.”

 

They cut through a back alley, and Taako wrinkled his nose before turning sharply towards a city block. They wound closer and closer towards the heart of the city, before stepping out onto grass. Kravtiz realized they’d made it to a rather large park, with trees draping over roads and benches intricately carved along dirt paths.

 

“Hey, what’s that in the distance, Krav?” asked Taako, in a playful tone of voice that meant he clearly already knew the answer.

 

“Some trees, I’d assume,” said Kravitz, not taking the bait. Taako huffed out a laugh.

 

“Okay, no. Here we go.”

 

As they approached, something large and solid cropped up. Formations of rock, no, art pieces carved from marble. Kravitz’s breath hitched.

 

“Is this…?”

 

“Yeah. That’s right.”

 

Taako dropped Kravitz’s hand again to walk up and thump a fist against one of the statues. It was huge, and solid, and a near-perfect replica of Magnus Burnsides. Gathered around him, six more familiar faces.

 

The IPRE crew gazed down at him, smiling and majestic in the moonlight.

 

“Taako this is incredible,” said Kravitz. “How did I not know about this?”

 

“You know, I was kind of hoping you’d run into it and be freaked out or something. But then I got too excited, so here we are. Look at me! Sort of spooky, right?”

 

Kravitz examined the huge marble Taako, grinning down at him from in between Lup and Magnus. It was very impressive craftsmanship but, yes, a little odd. Kravitz was pretty used to seeing Taako’s face everywhere, at this point, but he had to admit that something about this seemed extra special.

 

“It’s very big,” he said, simply.

 

“That it is, my man. Good, though, right?”

 

“Yes. Very impressive,” he said, breaking his gaze away to smile back at Taako. Taako swelled with pride, and Kravitz’s heart hummed. He couldn’t help but lean forward to take Taako’s hand again. He felt a moment of sappiness coming on.

 

“I think I like the real thing better, though,” he said. Taako broke into frenzied laughter.

 

“I mean, natch. Now stop being cute, there’s too much else happening.”

 

Kravitz cocked an eyebrow, waiting for what he already knew was coming. Taako looked down at the grass, thinking hard before continuing.

 

“I mean, it’s probably fine to say it by now, so here goes... Barry’s gonna propose to Lup today. That’s what this whole thing was about, can you believe that shit?”

 

He reached up a hand to tap on the leg of the Lup statue, hand sliding down. Kravitz blinked, watching Taako's face. He sensed a bit of tension.

 

“Are you worried, Taako?”

 

“What? About Lup?” he said, stiffening. “’Course not. She… she deserves this.”

 

Kravitz waited, knowing that couldn’t be the end of it. Taako sighed, working to form the words in his brain. He wasn’t used to sharing his feelings like this, but Kravitz almost made it easy, somehow.

 

“I mean, I guess a little bit. She’s just… she’s all I ever had, you know? And in the beginning I used to feel a bit like a third wheel, but that was on me. She’s really good at balancing me time and Barry time. And this isn’t gonna change that. I’m just… you know.”

 

Kravitz nodded, because he did know. Taako had scars that went back hundreds of years, through more suffering than anyone should ever have to endure. That fear of abandonment, that clinging to his sister as the world around him fell apart, was a tried and true method that had proven itself to be the only option from childhood, to loss, to betrayal, to the end of the world. Kravitz couldn’t hope to heal these scars, but he treated them as best he could, and helped Taako ride out the hurt whenever it cropped up.

 

He took a step closer, wrapping Taako in a quick hug, then broke apart. He knew Taako didn’t like public displays of anything, but he figured his need for security was bigger than that, right now. Plus, the sadness in his face made Kravitz want to hold him and comfort him and never let go, a little bit.

 

“You won’t be left alone,” he promised, taking each of Taako’s hands. His heart thundered with the weight of these words, the promise of what was going to happen at the end of this day.

 

Taako smiled, and, without warning, leaned forward to kiss Kravitz, deeply and softly and with a level of tenderness that Kravitz had almost never felt before. His heart raced in his chest as it drew in to press against Taako’s, and Taako let go of Kravitz’s hands and pressed his palms into Kravitz’s back. Kravitz’s own hands fluttered uselessly at his sides as his mind whirled, every thought leading to Taako.

 

Taako pulled away, face back in its usual casual, half-joking expression. He looked up at Kravitz, and he held him, and he didn’t let go.

 

“I know,” he said.

 

Kravitz looked down at Taako, feeling the weight of what he’d just been given. Taako burst into laughter.

 

“Okay, you need to remember to breathe. This is freaking me out.”

 

“Oh, right.”

 

Kravitz took a few hurried breaths, feeling them shudder through his entire body as Taako broke away from him, still holding his hand.

 

“We should go meet Ren, now,” he said. “Make sure everything’s set up for the show.”

 

Kravitz nodded, hand burning with Taako’s warmth.

 

“And Lup’s not gonna be there, so you have to clap extra hard.”

 

“You know I will.”

 

*****

 

“Okay, babe, time to blow your mind,” said Lup, whirling around. They’d walked about one block from the restaurant, quickly, Lup bursting with news that Barry already knew. He couldn’t help but grin, drinking in her energy.

 

“Hit me.”

 

Lup wrinkled her nose, following a nearby pedestrian with her eyes as they left the scene. As soon as it was just her and Barry again, she launched into her news.

 

“Kravitz is gonna propose to Taako tonight. That’s some clown shoes bullshit, right?”

 

Barry faked surprise.

 

“Oh yeah?”

 

Lup nodded furiously.

 

“ _Wild,_ right? They’ve been together for, what? Two years? Two and a half? And you just know they’re meant to be, but still. Could you imagine?”

 

Barry laughed.

 

“I mean, most people don’t just pine for fifty years, babe. This was kind of a special case.”

 

“It wasn’t that long, don’t be dramatic,” she said, waving a hand in the air.

 

“Forty-three,” said Barry, shrugging. She laughed, and they spent a few seconds in silence, staring at each other. He sensed something else behind the excitement, and his smile fell a bit.

 

“Are you… are you worried about him?” he asked, gently. Lup’s mouth trembled.

 

“Nah, not at all. They’re so good together it’s gross.”

 

Barry nodded.

 

“True, but not what I meant,” he said, grasping at her hand. She latched on immediately, and he strengthened at her touch.

 

“I know you’ve had some… I guess, disconnect going on since you got back.”

 

Lup looked away, biting at her lip.

 

Sometimes, in the middle of the night, when things seemed harsher and their bodies tangled together and they shared their souls, Lup would admit to her fears, built up over ten years of isolation. Barry wished more than anything that he could take those years away from her, take away the hurt and put her back into his life without all of the messiness, but he knew better than anyone how important it was to face the past honestly. All he could do was listen, and hold her, and try to pick up on her cues when she played her usual bright and happy self in the daylight.

 

Lup and Taako had been together for their entire lives. Taako was so, so, important to Lup, and the two knew each other like extensions of themselves. The ten years Lup had spent away from Taako, as he grew and changed without her, had created a deep fear in her that things would never be the same between them. They’d slotted back together instantly, of course, but for her to no longer know every detail about his life was so new to her, and so weird, that it took a lot of healing to even get her to this point, where she could openly appreciate Kravitz’s shared love of her brother.

 

Lup leaned forward, pressing her head into Barry’s shoulder, and he let go of her hand, brushing his fingers along the back of her hair.

 

“I’m happy for him, Barr, really. He’s so good with Kravitz. Better than I’ve ever seen him.”

 

“Hmm,” Barry hummed, planting a kiss in her hair. She spent a few moments there, just breathing him in as he held her. 

 

She suddenly drew back, and he saw her grinning, all of her worries evaporating into the night air.

 

“Well, anyway, now he’s got no reason to pick on us for being sappy. This was fifty years in the making.”

 

“There you go with the fifty years again,” Barry teased.

 

“Sixty-seven. Damn, that number’s gonna age real well in the next few years. We’d better plan something awesome.”

 

Barry had no idea what she meant by this. He gave her one last, quick squeeze as she recovered from her melancholy.

 

“Anyway, enough about my lame brother,” said Lup, pulling away and standing beside Barry. “What are we gonna do until the show? How long do we have, again?”

 

“A few hours,” said Barry, which was a lie. The show started in one hour exactly, but he wasn’t going to tell her, because they weren’t going to be there.

 

“Nice. Lots of time.”

 

“Yeah. Come on, I’ve got an idea.”

 

Lup blinked, impressed, as Barry took the lead. They wound their way to the shopping district, chatting and laughing as they went. He kept a gentle eye on her, but any traces of her previous sadness seemed to have been overtaken by excitement.

 

“Here we go,” said Barry, doing a lame sort of jazz hands at the store in front of them. Lup snorted.

 

“Music store, hm? You about to serenade me?”

 

“Somethin’ like that.”

 

He took her hand as he pushed through the door, a bell above them announcing their entry. Barry did a quick scan of the room, crammed wall-to-wall with every kind of instrument, but no one seemed to be in this part of the shop.

 

Just as planned. His heart picked up as the reality of the situation started to creep in. He'd been hoping for a violin, but none of them seemed to be set out for playing. He'd make do, then.

 

Lup stepped in beside him, breathing in the scent of old instruments, so similar to the air surrounding their year training at the Legato Conservatory. Barry had once learned that smell was the most powerful sense for triggering memory. He had no idea if that was true, but the smell of the old shop was making him choke up a little bit. In his mind’s eye, he saw her, weaving a melody in perfect complement to his own, holding his hand so steadily for the first time, telling him she loved him in the soft glow of the afternoon. She looked just as beautiful now as she did on the day of their performance. More beautiful, even, after he’d gotten to know her so much more deeply.

 

“Pretty nice spread,” Lup said, nodding as she looked around.

 

“I thought spread was just for food,” said Barry, watching her examine the shop with her usual half-joking expression. He was maybe bordering on a weird amount of staring, but he couldn’t stop looking at her. 

 

“What can I say, I’m a chef at heart.”

 

“Any musician left in you?” he asked, and she turned to him, eyebrow raised.

 

“Is that a challenge?”

 

He gestured towards the window display, a grand piano with a sign imploring them to give it a try.

 

She laughed.

 

“Oh, that’s so not fair.”

 

He grinned, stepping towards the piano and settling down at the keys. It had been sixty-seven years, but he didn’t think he could forget something like this.

 

He struck a key, and the sound came out all jagged and loud. He winced, hearing Lup’s laughter over his shoulder. She worked her way around the bench, sliding in beside him with her leg pressed against his. He relaxed at her touch, focusing more on the song instead of the movements.

 

She pressed a few keys as he played, then leaned back again as the song took shape. It wasn’t perfect, but it wasn’t too bad. His mind flitted back across decades, to the weight in his chest as he played beside her, as their love took shape in the eyes and ears and hearts of everyone the world over. He grinned down at the keys, his memories of her meshing with the feeling of her against him as she leaned her weight against his, her breath on his neck, sending pulses of electricity down his spine. After a few minutes she leaned forward again, pressing random keys until the song derailed. He laughed, pulling backwards.

 

“What are you doing?”

 

“Composing,” she said, simply.

 

She continued to hammer away for a while, and he gently placed his hands over top of hers, stilling them.

 

“Not to crush your creative spirit, but, uh…”

 

Lup pulled back, faking hurt.

 

“I can’t believe this. Such hatred, stemming from the words of my beloved. This is it, babe. This is my origin story. Remember this moment.”

 

Barry looked down at her, loving the smile she couldn’t keep off of her face even through her sarcasm. He couldn’t stop himself from leaning forward, and kissing her gently on the edge of her mouth. She frowned, grabbing the sides of his head and pulling him back in for a proper kiss. He melted against her lips, glasses smushing against his cheekbones, stomach fluttering, still, even after all these years of kissing her. He broke into a huge grin against her touch, unable to control himself. He was gonna marry the fuck out of this woman. She planted tiny kisses along his smile, then pulled away quickly, sliding off the bench and getting to her feet.

 

“Well, I think it’s about time for us to go,” she said, reaching for his hand. He obliged, and she helped him up, not dropping his hand as they faced each other.

 

“Yeah. Gotta get a copyright on that song before someone takes it.”

 

“Oh, fuck. You’re right.”

 

They left the store to the sound of the bell above the door again, and stepped back into the dark of night. Lup could see much better than Barry could in the darkness, so she took the lead, winding them through more streets, examining shop windows and public art. Barry carefully steered her as they went.

 

“Hey, let’s go this way,” he said, suddenly. His heart thundered as she stopped, turning back towards him. He hoped she didn’t notice how shaky his hand was in hers.

 

“Hm? Which way?”

 

Barry gestured to their left, into a forest, where a twisty pathway snaked upwards. Lup blinked, examining it.

 

“You know, darling, if I’d known you for any less than a hundred and fourteen years, I might say this is incredibly murder-y.”

 

He grinned, tugging on her hand a little to get her started. They stepped into the forest, feet moving from solid concrete to squishy forest floor.

 

“It’s… still pretty murdery, yeah,” he said, looking around.

 

“But also pretty sweet,” she said, turning to face him. “Romantic, even.”

 

He looked down at her, unable to fully read her expression in the darkness. A bead of sweat rolled down his back.

 

“Um, yeah. Maybe a little.”

 

*****

 

Taako graciously ducked back into his wagon, accepting the last few twists of the hand and autograph requests all as he bowed his way backwards. As soon as a gap cleared in the crowd, he shut the door, grinning widely and stretching his arms out in the post-show thrill.

 

He danced up a few steps into the landing area of the wagon, where Kravitz stood at the sink, washing dishes and humming a song Taako had never heard before. His voice was fucking incredible, and Taako was almost sorry when Kravitz noticed him, and stopped humming to speak.

 

“Hey,” he said, breaking into a wide grin.

 

“Hey, yourself,” said Taako, practically skipping the few steps it took to get him out of the doorway and into his boyfriend’s arms. Kravitz laughed, holding his hands out wide to prevent getting suds on Taako. Taako leaned in to kiss him, lips warm and breath fast and heart fluttery. Taako’s good mood got instantly better with the kiss, and he only pulled away when he ran out of breath. He took a few moments to stare at Kravitz, his face flushed and eyes all mushy with love.

 

“Have you tried any, yet?” Taako asked, tearing his gaze away before it got too real. He gestured to his food from the show. It was a pretty miraculous pork dish with balsamic-pear compote. No big deal.

 

“Of course. It was wonderful.”

 

“Hell yeah it was.”

 

Kravitz laughed again, and Taako brightened. This guy would seriously laugh at anything Taako said. It made him feel incredible. Taako leaned in for another quick kiss before Kravitz went back to dishes, and he grabbed a towel to help dry, heart fluttering in his chest.

 

Kravitz paused, setting a pan down in the sink.

 

“Actually I… was hoping I could show you something? Outside.”

 

Taako shrugged, setting the towel back down. Any excuse to not do dishes.

 

“Yeah, sure thing. We’d better sneak out the back, though, there’s a lot of people out there who want a piece of this.”

 

“Yes. Okay.”

 

Kravitz moved rather stiffly towards the back door, and Taako followed, confused.

 

“Everything alright there, darling?”

 

“Yes,” Kravitz squeaked. “After you.”

 

He held the door open and Taako stepped outside, the chill of night greeting him.

 

They were set up in a little park, backed onto a lonely pathway leading out to a pond. Kravitz set off that way, smiling softly at Taako, mouth twitching.

 

Taako followed him down the murder path, trusting him so completely it hurt. Whatever was going on, he was sure he’d find out soon.

 

Their hands found their way together again, Kravitz’s clammy palm reminiscent of their first date together. Taako squeezed it reassuringly, and felt Kravitz relax a little as they made their way down.

 

Taako spotted the pond in the distance, fireflies dancing over its surface, lazy ripples reflecting moonlight back onto the greenery surrounding it. It was almost perfectly circular, with a sort of otherworldly vibe. Kravitz didn’t stop, leading them right up to the edge of the water before pausing, and taking in an enormous breath. Taako looked up at him, lips parted, still confused.

 

“You… you told me once… that you were afraid of being left behind,” said Kravitz, not fully meeting Taako’s eyes. “You said… that you were afraid no one would have you. And then, since that day, I’ve watched you grow so close to so many people. You’re... surrounded by people who love you, Taako, and you deal in so much love every day. I’m… I hope you don’t still feel the way you did, on that first night.”

 

Taako’s heart picked up further, although he wasn’t quite sure why yet. He found himself dodging the emotion of the conversation.

 

“I mean, I deal in a lot of cash, too. And fame. Gotta have that.”

 

Taako sighed, and it came out kind of fast and choked. Paused, deciding to go with whatever was happening here.

 

“But, no, yeah. I… I know people care about me, now.”

 

Kravitz turned his head towards Taako, and their eyes met, and something was there, and Taako’s heart jumped against his ribs.

 

“Good,” said Kravitz. “Because I love you very much.”

 

“I love you too,” said Taako, softly, and he meant it with everything he had. He started to lean forward, to collapse into Kravitz, but Kravitz turned again, waving a wand Taako hadn’t known he’d been carrying.

 

A wave of energy rippled out across the pond, spreading across its edges, turning the whole thing to a sparkling pink crystal. The light of the fireflies continued on with a pale glow, the peaks of the tourmaline reflecting moonlight back into Kravitz’s eyes as Taako tore his gaze away, breaking into an enormous grin.

 

“You’ve been holding out on me!” he said. “I… I had no idea you could do that.”

 

Kravitz smiled too, and, holy shit, were there _tears_ in his eyes?

 

“I… I couldn’t until recently, let me tell you. It’s been quite the learning curve.”

 

Taako laughed, more forcefully than usual, his mouth a little numb.

 

“Well, you’re doing great. You’re…” something in Taako’s throat cut him off, and Kravitz was looking at him so deeply, and so intensely, and every nerve was on fire, and Taako’s hands shook a bit.

 

“You inspire me to do better every day, Taako,” Kravitz said. “And… well, I wanted a cool, sort of, circular story kind of theme. This is where we started, you know?”

 

He gestured to the pink crystal.

 

“And this…”

 

Taako’s heart hammered on his ribs, forcing air out and collapsing his lungs and sending electric impulses through every muscle, every vein, everything. Kravitz was… on one knee, now. He was…

 

Holy fucking shit.

 

Kravitz laughed nervously, holding out a box with two simple, silver rings.

 

“This… is a promise. To stay with you, Taako, and love you, and never let you feel lonely again. You’re incredible, and smart, and funny, and gorgeous, and my life has become so, so good since I met you. Will you…”

 

Kravitz paused. He’d been talking for too long, forgetting he sometimes had to breathe now. Taako laughed, twice, and it sounded distant and weird to his own ears.

 

“Will you marry me, Taako?”

 

Taako burst into a fit of manic laughter, swiping at his eyes as they prickled with tears.

 

“I… _yeah_ ,” he managed, choking a little on his words. Kravitz reached out with a trembling hand, slipping a ring onto Taako’s finger. Taako reached for the second one robotically, and clung to Kravitz’s hand like a lifeline, both of them shaking, and he slipped Kravitz’s on too.

 

And then Taako’s legs finally gave out, and he was on the ground, feeling the wetness of it soak through the knees of his robes. He threw himself at Kravitz, still erupting into random fits of laughter, between shuddering breaths, and Kravitz was full-on crying now, and they clung to each other in the moonlight, swaying and laughing and joyful-crying until their breath settled and they broke apart.

 

Taako stared into Kravitz’s eyes for a while, brain still catching up with whatever the fuck had just happened. He couldn’t stand looking at Kravitz this long without kissing him, so he did that, and felt Kravitz’s smile twitching against his own as their arms wrapped around each other again.

 

And then Taako remembered the other big thing happening tonight, and he pulled away with a jerk.

 

“Oh, shit. The Lup thing. The Lup… and Barry thing. Is that…”

 

“Yeah,” said Kravitz, nose wrinkling with happiness. “We… Barry and I sort of planned it this way.”

 

Taako laughed again, more steadily this time.

 

“Shit, that’s wild. That’s… wow. Okay. How will I know when I can call her and let her know about this?” he asked, pulling his arm from around Kravitz for long enough to inspect the ring.

 

“Just wait,” said Kravitz, leaning into him again. “You’ll know.”

 

*****

 

Lup took a final bite of her pastry, savouring the taste with her head on Barry’s shoulder. The two were huddled under a thin blanket, sitting at the top of an enormous hill overlooking the city. It was a spectacular view. Very sappy. Very romantic. Even after all this time, Barry never stopped upping the adorableness.

 

“This was a killer dessert, babe,” said Lup, packing up the container. “You nailed it. Totally.”

 

Barry grinned, his eyes all scrunchy and perfect.

 

“Oh yeah? I, uh, I picked up a few things over the years, I guess.”

 

“Sure did.”

 

Lup was pretty sure cuddling at the top of a killer cliff with a chocolate eclair was just about the best life could get. She sighed deeply, burying her face in Barry’s neck. He hummed, leaning into her, kissing the top of her head.

 

“I have something else for you,” he murmured.

 

“Oh yeah? Hit me.”

 

He sat up straighter, and Lup frowned, forced to sit up next to him. Not loving this, so far.

 

Barry did a few quick arm stretches, then took out his wand. He closed his eyes, concentrating, hand trembling slightly.

 

“What’s up?” she asked, slightly worried now. He looked, afraid, almost?

 

There was a huge bang as, in answer, Barry shot off a firework, exploding into reds and blues across the sky. Lup bolted to her feet.

 

“Oh, shit!”

 

He laughed, pulling himself to standing beside her, the blanket falling down around their feet. He waved his wand again, and a new firework shot out, rocketing across the sky. It was absolutely gorgeous, fizzling in a shower of gold before picking up again in a thousand smaller explosions. Lup watched hungrily as Barry fired off more and more, the explosions building up in the night sky, burning a million flashes of colour into her vision.

 

She reached back, expecting to find his hand, but he brushed her off, lightly. She let him focus, taking a step forward towards the edge of the cliff. The wind howled, and the sky exploded, and it was glorious. She cheered, drinking it in.

 

After a few minutes, it became clear that Barry was building up to some grand finale. The shots became quicker, louder, and then, the biggest explosion she’d ever seen, illuminating the world below in brilliant light. She took in a deep breath, closing her eyes to capture the moment, as a silence fell over the cliff again. She whirled around, cheeks flushed, and…

 

Holy fuck.

 

Where Barry had been standing before, he now knelt, on one knee, whole body shaking like a leaf. He held something up towards her, glinting in the moonlight. A ring. Holy _fuck_.

 

She took a few shaky steps towards him, heart racing like a thousand tiny explosions in her ears. Her throat closed up a bit and her breathing maybe stopped and her brain hummed in the silence. Holy fuck, holy fuck, holy fuck.

 

“Barry?” she managed to choke out, and he laughed, once, high pitched and nervous.

 

“Lup I… I’m…” he was tripping over his own tongue, and it only made her love him more, the emotion roaring through her bloodstream.

 

“I’m really bad at words, but, fuck, Lup, I love you so much, and I’ve loved you for longer than I should, even, have, been, alive? And that’s amazing and you’re amazing. You’re so beautiful and hilarious and smart and you’re my best friend, and every day it’s just... I’m so, so lucky that you chose me. And I never want that to change so uh I guess…”

 

Lup drew closer with every word, huffing out her breaths through her mouth in a weird half-laugh.

 

“I’m rambling, will you marry me?”

 

All of the emotion rushed out of her at once, and she smiled so wide it hurt, trembling.

 

“Hmm that’s… a real thinker, babe,” her voice sounded kind of high and squeaky, even to her own ears. “Let me just… yes. Yes, fuck. Fucking of course yes I’m gonna marry you fuck get the fuck up here…”

 

Lup yanked him to his feet with one powerful tug, and crushed him in the longest and deepest kiss she could manage while still shaking uncontrollably. She scrunched her eyes shut until she saw stars, eyelashes on cheeks, pressing into the edge of his glasses, lips heavy on his, clinging to the front of his shirt and drinking in his unsteady breaths as he tried to talk through her kisses and his laughter.

 

“I… fuck, Lup, I’m g-I’m gonna dr-op the ring just w-wait a min…”

 

Oh, shit, the ring. Lup pulled back a fraction, resting her hand on top of his, expectantly. He laughed again, taking another deep, shuddering breath before removing the ring from its case, and sliding it onto her finger with shaky hands.

 

“Wow, babe. This is a super nice ring,” she said, twisting her hand around in the moonlight, admiring the way the light flickered off of the red gemstones.

 

“Aha, yeah…” said Barry, still clinging to the back of her jacket, still so close his breath tickled her neck. “Um, Taako helped pick it out.”

 

Lup laughed, leaning back into him, breathing him in until her breath settled and reality set in.

 

“Oh, hold on. Taako.”

 

She pulled backwards, looking into Barry’s radiant face again.

 

“Is that actually happening? Taako and Kravitz? Or…”

 

“Oh, yeah, it’s happening,” said Barry, gazing at her with the soppiest, sweetest expression she’d ever seen, clearly not too concerned about it. Lup wasn’t sure that her own face was much better. Fuck, this was a long time coming. They’d earned this. They’d _made_ it.

 

“Hey, Lup!”

 

Lup jumped at Taako’s voice, coming from somewhere in the region of Barry’s jeans. Barry flinched, withdrawing a hand from Lup’s shoulder and digging his stone of farspeech out of his pocket.

 

“Lup!” Taako said, again. “Are you done yet? My hot new fiancé and I are heading out for some drinks, if you and your nerd want in.”

 

Lup blinked, snatching the stone from Barry’s hand, warming even further at the news.

 

“Hey, bro. My hot new fiancé and I will be there. Just give us some time to get back to civilization.”

 

“Awesome! Sure thing.”

 

Lup handed the stone back to Barry, using it as an excuse to grab his hand and pull him in for one last kiss, noses smushing together and faces burning.

 

“Well, you heard the guy. It’s back to the murder path for us.”

 

*****

 

About an hour later, four tipsy, overjoyed lovers sat around a table, holding hands and laughing and swapping the stories of their respective nights. Lup won the argument about who got to get married first, and Taako won the right to wear a white suit with a dramatic cape. They claimed friends for the ceremony like picking baseball teams, deciding that the IPRE crew would just have to double up, and Merle would officiate both.

 

The twins, of course, were to be each other’s’ best man and maid of honour, respectively. Of course.

 

They tumbled out of the bar late at night, heading their separate ways with a spring in their step, for what had passed, and what was to come. For each other, and for themselves. For the sound of fireworks, and the smell of balsamic-pear compote. For many more nights like this one. Forever.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey all, post script Newt here. The only real experience I have with proposals is from, like, watching a season of The Bachelor and yelling at it? This is essentially the most romancey thing I've ever written, and I love these four a lot, but I’m also very new to writing romance, and a little shy about it. So, anyway, please be gentle, and if you have any nice comments to leave that would be super appreciated ;w;. Only if you want to, of course, and thanks for reading anyway! Hooray twinsweek!  
> Also! The fireworks idea was a little bit inspired by glowbat's awesome artwork, here:  
> https://glowbat.tumblr.com/post/164112288661/a-commission-for-the-lovely-roseclear-who-wanted  
> It's awesome! Check it out!


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